A 32-year-old member asked:
Why are prenatal vitamins important?
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
Dr. Carolyn Thompsonanswered
29 years experience
Healthy baby: Folic acid (folate) is an important component of prenatal vitamins. It has been shown to decrease the risk of neural tube defects in women who get at least 1mg daily. These are birth defects that include types of spina bifida. The neural tube (which forms the brain and spinal cord) is formed by the 28th day of pregnancy, before many know they are pregnant.
6.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. Nikolaos Zachariasanswered
Maternal-Fetal Medicine 27 years experience
Many reasons.: The most important ingredient in prenatal vitamin formulations is folic acid, a b-complex agent that has been shown to prevent birth defects (mainlyopen neural tube defects, heart anomalies and preterm birth) and calcium.Vitamin d to assure proper fetal bone growth and avoid maternal bone loss. All reproductive-age women should be taking at least 1 mg folate daily even if they don't plan pregnancy.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Similar questions
A 36-year-old member asked:
Which vitamins are most important?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Heidi Fowleranswered
Psychiatry 26 years experience
Supplements: Most are important because a deficiency in any one of them could lead to a disease/ disorder. Taking supplemental vitamins may not be required if you have a well balanced diet.
686 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Last updated Sep 7, 2018
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